And this is a picture of me no one's had to pay for... Tony Blair hits the campaign trail

It was all a far cry from the five-star luxury to which he has grown accustomed on his foreign jaunts.

But as Tony Blair clambered on to the steps of a summerhouse in Jacqui Smith's Redditch constituency he insisted it was 'a pleasure' to take time out from his money-spinning ventures to hit the campaign trail on behalf of the disgraced former Home Secretary.

He brushed aside public fury overthe expenses scandal and hailed Miss Smith, one of the original Blair Babes, as 'one of the finest and most decent people I know'.

As Tony Blair clambered on to the steps of a summerhouse in Jacqui Smith's Redditch constituency he insisted it was 'a pleasure' to take time out from his money-spinning ventures

Miss Smith's notorious claim for her husband's pornographic films made her the self-confessed 'poster girl of the expenses scandal' last year.

But the former Prime Minister, who has spent much of the campaign abroad making money and holidaying, appeared entirely untroubled by the crisis which shamed Westminster.

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Mr Blair, who turns 57 on Thursday, told local Labour activists that the re-election of Miss Smith would make a great ‘birthday present’.

He chatted to Labour supporters at a garden party at the five-bedroom detached home of local Labour activist Dorothy Simpson and her husband Barry, a retired cabinet maker, in Miss Smith’s constituency in Redditch, Worcestershire.

On arrival Mr Blair greeted Miss Smith with a warm embrace and a kiss on both cheeks.

Mr Blair brushed aside public fury over the expenses scandal and hailed Miss Smith as 'one of the finest and most decent people I know'

The image, which risks reminding angry voters of the expenses scandal, stood in stark contrast to Gordon Brown’s efforts to distance himself from Labour MPs shamed by the affair.

Although Miss Smith is a former Cabinet colleague standing in a highly marginal seat, Labour sources said Mr Brown would ‘definitely not’ be visiting her constituency.

Miss Smith herself has acknowledged that she has been ‘disgraced’ by her expenses and does not deserve the seat in the House of the Lords that would normally be offered to a former Home Secretary.

But Mr Blair appeared to have no such qualms about throwing a protective arm around the one-time Blair Babe who is fighting for her political life.

He said: ‘I've known Jacqui for many years now, I worked with her very closely in government. She is one of the finest and most decent people I know.

‘I am absolutely proud to be with her today. She is somebody who I wouldn't be here unless I believed in and thought she had a lot to offer the people of Redditch and the people of our country, so it is a pleasure actually to be here.

‘May 6, apart from being election day, is, as someone reminded me earlier, also my birthday and as a birthday present I want Jacqui back as MP for Redditch and a fourth term for the Labour government. So let's make sure we have it.’

Miss Smith, who was brought into the Cabinet by Mr Blair in 2006, quit as Home Secretary last year in the wake of the expenses scandal.

She was forced to apologise to MPs last year after designating her family home in Redditch as her second home, allowing her to claim £116,000 in expenses.

A sleaze inquiry found that she spent more nights in Redditch than at her designated ‘main home’, which was a spare room in her sister’s terraced house in London. But she was not required to pay the money back.

Miss Smith also faced public humiliation after it emerged her husband Richard Timney had used her taxpayer-funded expenses to claim for the cost of watching two pornographic films at the family home while she was away.

Labour is defending a majority of just 2,163 in Redditch and neighbours yesterday expressed surprise at Mr Blair’s decision to visit what many observers view as a lost cause.

Neighbour Lawrence Maffioli, 36, a Christadelphian, said Mr Simpson attended the same church as him in the town.

He added: 'It is our belief that politics offers no solutions so I would be very surprised if Barry was even going to vote in this election. I certainly won't be.’

Another neighbour said: ‘It's surprising that Mr Blair has come here, Jacqui Smith needs all the help she can to get re-elected because this is a largely Tory neighbourhood, so why Mr Blair's chosen to visit a Labour activist in this road is beyond me.

'One would have thought Mrs Smith could reply on Dorothy's vote in any case.'